Strangers on a Train
by Amalia Autumn
Summary: Roy bumps into a familiar face while on the train leaving Central...


"Ticket please." the ticket collector held out a elegantly gloved hand.

Roy Mustang handed in his ticket, and the man nodded, "Thank you, sir, and welcome aboard. Please enjoy your trip."

_I don't enjoy trips anymore, _thought Mustang dryly as he stepped up and into the train.

As he walked down the aisle many people looked out the windows of their private cabins. Perhaps they thought Roy was strange because of the big, black eyepatch that covered what was left of his left eye. Funny how he killed a man who had a deadly left eye...karma was indeed bittersweet.

It took Roy twenty minutes to go through the entire train and see almost every car was full of three, four, or even five people.

There was only one cabin--way in the back of the last car--that was empty.

Roy sighed quietly and swung open the cabin door just as the crackly-sounding loudspeaker proclaimed,

"_Everyone please take your seats, we will be leaving Central station shortly._"

Roy collapsed on one of the leather seats, staring out at the window as the train began pulling out of the station. He turned to stare at the empty seat across from him and sighed once more.

He stuffed his hand in his pocket and tried fishing out a bag of snacks he bought at the stand before boarding the train, but the door swung open once more and as Roy turned to see who dared intrude, his eyes (or rather, just one eye) widened and he froze completely.

There, standing at the entrance, was Edward.

Oh God, Edward wasn't missing, he _knew _Edward was all right!!!

Nothing changed--the red coat over an entirely black ensemble, the white gloves that hid his hands, the long hair--tied in a ponytail this time...but the hair was darker, and the eyes were a stormy gray.

Roy began regaining composure. It wasn't Edward.

His heart sunk.

_Dammit, where the hell is Fullmetal?!?!, _thought Roy, frustrated. It had been a whole year, this was just ridiculous!!!

Roy cleared his throat and rose, "Excuse me, I must take my leave since this is your cabin--!"

"No, it's quite all right," the voice that emerged from the boy's lips sounded strangely familiar, "please, take your seat. Don't leave on my account."

Roy slowly sat, stared at the boy until the boy sat.

He noticed Roy was (rudely) gawking at him. He smiled shyly and a tint of pink darkened his pale face somewhat, "Is something wrong?"

That voice was bugging Roy for some reason. He felt as if he'd heard it before, he just couldn't pinpoint it.

Then again, everything about the boy was familiar--Roy shook his head and shut his eye, "No, not at all."

There was a moment of awkward silence. Then, the boy spoke first,

"So...um...where are you headed?"

Roy didn't find his bag of snacks, but he did find the newspaper as he unfolded it and began reading as he answered,

"To be honest, I'm not sure where I'm headed. I just had to leave Central for a while."

The boy sighed, lowering his head and narrowing his eyes sadly, "I had to leave Central because I didn't find who I was looking for...again."

This captivated Roy, because he himself wanted to find someone too. He put the newspaper aside and furrowed an eyebrow,

"Who are you looking for?"

Fists clenched on the boy's lap, and his voice grew determined,

"I went to Central to see if anyone could help me find my brother. He's been missing for a year now, and when I went to find help--no one would help me."

The sentence alone hit Roy in the stomach hard. A pit formed at his throat. He felt like he was ready to lose his breakfast. He was finally able to put the voice on a big, hulking suit of armor he'd seen also a year ago.

He didn't think Edward had actually _succeeded_...

"Alphonse..." Roy mumbled to himself, his eye widening in shock as he looked down in disbelief.

"How did you know my name?" The boy looked up, eyes alit with wonder and suspicion.

Roy froze. Was he really talking that loud or was it the thickly quiet air surrounding them?

But right now, Roy didn't care. Looking at the younger Elric brother he almost couldn't believe...but _how..._?

"Who are you?" Alphonse tensed up now, almost ready to rise and fight back in case this man tried to attack him.

Roy cleared his throat and regained composure. He tried to be as casual as possible as he waved a hand,

"Relax, kid, I was an old friend of your brother's."

Old friend? The irony of everything today. It seemed only yesterday that Edward was screaming something like "bastard Colonel" and "don't call me shrimpy".

Alphonse's eyes widened, and the light in both orbs were so bright Roy thought he actually went blind for a minute,

"Really?!?! You knew my brother?!?! What was he like? How did you know him? Were you guys close? Did he ever mention me? Or--or Winry?!?!?!"

Geez, the kid was practically hyper. But then again, Roy didn't blame him for some reason.

"You...don't remember?" Roy asked dumbly. Well, duh. Of course not, if the kid was asking all these questions.

Al saddened somewhat, "No. People tell me stories, and I can't remember ever taking part of them. I hate it. It's like putting myself in some blurry picture I can't even see in my head. And the worst part was I didn't wake up to seeing my brother. Tell me," he looked up at Roy, "who are you? And how did you know my brother?"

"My name is Roy Mustang...your brother used to be in the--!" Roy was about to tell Al everything he knew about Ed, but Alphonse interuppted,

"Yes, I know you...well, not really," he added sheepishly, "...but...Winry and Granny Pinako tell me stories about you. My brother was in the military, and worked under your jurisdiction. Am I right?"

Roy cleared his throat, "Right."

"So, have you seen my brother? At all?"

The hope in the kid's face reflected how Roy felt inside. Roy actually felt sorry for him. He saddened and shook his head,

"Sorry, kid. I'm just as stuck as you are."

"Oh..." Al lowered his head for a long time, then he looked up again and asked, "...can you tell me what my brother was like when he worked for you?"

The look in his face somehow reminded Roy of Riza's dog, Black Hayate, whenever he was stuck outside in the rain. That 'sad, lonely, yet _yearning _to find a way to the solution' look.

And so Roy told him everything he knew about Ed. He even added a few jokes to try to make the boy chuckle a little. He answered whatever other questions Alphonse had for him, and after Roy finished his story, both of them felt as if Ed's very presence was in the cabin.

The train suddenly stopped, and the loudspeaker suddenly yelled,

"_We have now arrived in Resembool._"

"Already?" Roy raised an eyebrow, then checked his watch. He killed at least four hours with this kid. Did time really go that fast?

"Sorry, that's my stop." Alphonse rose, stuffing both hands in his pockets shyly, "...It was nice talking to you, Mr. Mustang."

Roy nodded dumbly, "Uh-huh...you, too."

Al reached over Roy, and Roy noticed the single brown suitcase. He turned around after one last timid smile, and opened the cabin door.

"Alphonse." Roy spoke.

The younger Elric turned, "Hm?"

"I'm...here to help. If you have any more questions, I'm usually in Central." Roy said seriously.

Al nodded, the childlike expression on his face suddenly maturing. Perhaps it was the trick of the light, Roy wasn't sure, "Thank you."

"Good luck." Roy added quietly just as Alphonse left.

The train pulled out of the station, and Roy sighed once more as he leaned on the window, letting the movement of the train lull him to sleep.

**Wow, that was actually fun to write. And no, this is not yaoi in any way...I don't support it. Just a take on how Roy feels about Ed missing. And for those who were even a little confused, this was set between the anime and the movie. **


End file.
